


The One With The Frosting

by cassielassie



Series: The One With ... [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Humor, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-11
Updated: 2020-07-11
Packaged: 2021-03-05 03:40:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,719
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25197850
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cassielassie/pseuds/cassielassie
Summary: Someone in Hermione Granger's division of the Department of Mysteries has a sweet tooth, because there's no other reason for 22 people to eat 60 cupcakes in less than 8 hours. She just doesn't anticipate the surprise waiting for her after making 192 cupcakes.
Relationships: Hermione Granger/Draco Malfoy
Series: The One With ... [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1837765
Comments: 24
Kudos: 195





	The One With The Frosting

**Author's Note:**

  * For [RonsGirlFriday](https://archiveofourown.org/users/RonsGirlFriday/gifts).



> This story started with me asking Mel to pick a drabble prompt from 150 options and then I wrote 2700 words of nothing but fluff. So here's how I spent my Friday night. Not really beta'd, so ignore the mistakes.

**The One With The Frosting**

Drabble prompt: "Frost the damn cupcakes."

****

* * *

Everyone gathered in the employee break room to sing happy birthday to Andrew, and Hermione was wringing her hands by the cupcakes and apologizing to Susan. “I’m so sorry Susan - I made 22 cupcakes! I had thought - you know, we’re all adults. Surely one cupcake would be enough for everyone.” 

Except apparently someone had been munching on the cupcakes all morning and six people had to go without a cupcake. Susan laughed, her hand settling on Hermione’s arm. 

“It’s fine, Hermione. We asked you to make the cupcakes for a reason though - they’re thoroughly addicting. We’d get them for every birthday if we could.” 

Hermione nodded, but still darted to the Ministry cafeteria and grabbed some generic pastries, coming back and handing them out to everyone who had missed out on getting a cupcake, apologizing each time and promising there would be enough next time. 

Because next time, she would make more than enough cupcakes. 

\---

The night before Emilia’s birthday, Hermione had made 30 cupcakes. She had counted them twice, decorating the frosting the muggle way so that she could put a special flourish to each one. The frosting was tinted blue, similar to shade as the sky above London on a good day when it was clear, with silver swirls decorated across the top. 

She had shown up early the next morning and set the cupcakes out in the plastic container. She counted for the third time. Thirty cupcakes for 22 adults. With a satisfied nod, Hermione turned to go work on her project, knowing she would probably miss the celebration for Emilia, but eight extra cupcakes - she would be able to grab one when she ran to get her cuppa with Harry and bring one to him while they caught up about the latest shenanigans that Teddy had gotten up to and how training was going for Ginny.

Except when she stopped by the break room to get her cupcake at 3:30 pm, all of the cupcakes were gone. 

\--- 

When it was Harold’s birthday, Hermione didn’t show up into the office until noon since she had been up all night prior working on her experiment. But she had made 45 cupcakes that morning to bring in. She had given up an extra two hours of sleep, but she was determined to figure out how many cupcakes it took before she had extra to take home. 

Not that it was a rational thing to chase after.

“We thought there weren’t going to be any cupcakes, Hermione!” Susan’s voice was excited as she watched Hermione settling the cupcakes on the counter, her lunch forgotten on the counter. 

“They’re just cupcakes,” Hermione shrugged, turning back to look at Susan who was grinning at her. 

“Oh no, Granger. Don’t find false modesty now.” 

Hermione’s eyes narrowed at Malfoy where he lounged in the corner of the break room, his eyes trained on the papers in front of him as he took a sip of his cuppa, his navy suit tailored perfectly to his body. Susan shot him a look when he raised his head, but all he did was raise his eyebrows. Before he could say anything else, Hermione left the room. 

When she left that evening, all of the cupcakes were gone. 

\---

“Ginny, I swear it’s like a gremlin must work in our group. How do that many cupcakes go missing in a seven hour time span?” 

“Hermione, it’s just cupcakes,” Ginny’s voice was laced with humor as she lifted the firewhiskey to her lips. “I don’t think it’s really a matter that requires _this_ much thought.”

Hermione shook her head, sighing as someone sidled up to the table to talk to Ginny. Absently turning the glass of butterbeer in her hands, she eyed the group of people that were lined up at the bar, eyes snagging as she saw a head of familiarly blonde hair. Eyeing him absently, Hermione watched as Blaise Zabini let out a belly laugh, his hand coming to rest on Malfoy’s shoulder. Malfoy took a drink of his firewhiskey before giving Zabini a stupid smile, his eyes bright as he said something she couldn’t hear. 

And that smile most definitely didn’t have anything to do with the butterflies in her stomach. 

Ginny’s hand waved in front of her face and Hermione’s eyes darted to her face. 

“Thought I’d lost you there. I mean, I don’t blame you,” Ginny smiled as Hermione hastily raised her glass to her lips and took a long drag of her butterbeer. “He apologizes to you and then offers to give you unfettered access to the Malfoy library whenever you want it. I mean, that’s the most Hermione date I’ve ever heard of.”

Hermione flushed and spluttered her butterbeer. “I - what, he didn’t -”

Ginny laughed, tossing her hair over her shoulder. “I mean, let’s be real. If I was single -”

Hermione shook her head and hastily drained the rest of her butterbeer, signaling the waitress for a new one. 

It was going to be one of those nights out with Ginny. 

\---

Tapping her fingers on her kitchen counter, Hermione stared at the cupcakes that were cooling on the counter. 

She had made 60 cupcakes this time. 

Harry and Ron had told her she was mad. Ginny had told her she was obsessing over something that didn’t matter. Why didn’t she just charm the cupcakes, and keep everyone away from them? But it was the principal. How many cupcakes could a person consume? And why hadn’t she caught any of them eating the cupcakes? 

Finally deciding that the cupcakes had cooled, she picked up the Gryffindor red frosting, and got to work on the house themed decorations. Sure, Reynolds had been out of school for 20 years, but it was the only design she could think to give him. 

And red frosting tended to stain fingers better. 

\--- 

The next day, Hermione had found herself walking up and down the halls of their division, trying to engage with as many people as she could. People gave her weird looks, as she was notorious for hiding in her office and not coming out more than was necessary. 

But not once did she find anyone whose fingers would reflect that they had more than an average amount of cupcakes. Despite that, every single one of the cupcakes had been gone by 4:00 pm. 

No closer to figuring out the mystery, Hermione gathered her parchments into her bag and headed out her door, looking down as she shuffled papers. Running into something solid around the corner, Hermione started back. 

“I’m sorry, I wasn’t paying attention.”

“Clearly, Granger.” Malfoy’s voice drawled and Hermione felt her cheeks flush. “Surprised to see you leaving before dinner today.” 

Hermione hummed absently, trying not to stare at Malfoy’s lips which seemed to be tinged more pink than usual. 

Not that she made a habit of noticing his lips. 

“We have a surprise dinner for Ginny I promised I wouldn’t miss.” 

Malfoy nodded absently, already distracted by the parchments in his own hand. “I presume an engagement?” He looked up briefly to Hermione, and she noticed a piece of hair that was falling in front of his face. She nodded briefly, fighting to keep her hands down at her side. “Tell Red congratulations, I suppose,” his voice faded on the last word as he stepped around the corner, and Hermione turned and quickly headed towards Susan’s office, where she was gathering her own things. Before too long, the two of them were making their way through the Department of Mysteries atrium and walking towards the lifts. 

“Susan, how many cupcakes did you have today?” Hermione found herself asking, the empty container swinging from her hands. 

Susan gave Hermione a look. 

“Just two - Hermione, are you saying -”

“How does a group of 22 people eat _60_ cupcakes in a day!” 

Hermione missed the look that Susan tossed her way as she stepped off at the Auror’s department, Susan in tow, intent on telling Ron about her cupcake mystery as they headed to surprise Ginny after Harry popped the question. 

\---

With a grin, Hermione set the cupcakes out on the counter - the bare tops of 35 cupcakes taunting anyone who came to get one with the missing sugar. Turning with her bag in hand, and a quick pat to make sure that the two things of frosting were still sitting in there with the stasis charm on them, she left the break room and headed to her office, where several memos were floating and waiting on her, even though she had gotten there before 8:00 am. 

Setting her bag to the side, Hermione turned to the memos that were flitting about, quickly lost in reading a case the Auror’s department had sent and asked for her help on. 

So lost in it, that she didn’t notice when voices started talking loudly from the hallway and a pair of feet stomped their way down to her office. When the door banged open, Hermione’s hand jerked and the ink pot on her desk went flying, coating the parchment she had been working on. With a muttered curse, she jumped for her wand to clear the ink from what she had been working on, when a voice interrupted her. 

“Frost the damn cupcakes.” 

Hermione looked up to see Malfoy standing just inside her door, his arms crossed over his chest as he stared at her petulantly. 

“I - what?” 

“Frost. The. Damn. Cupcakes.” 

Hermione gaped at Malfoy, who continued his position by the door as he stared down his nose at her. When she continued to say nothing, he let out an aggravated sigh and took a few steps to her desk, where he placed his hands heavily and leaned over her, causing her to crane her neck back.

“Granger. Why, of all days to leave the cupcakes as torture devices in the break room, would you choose today?”

Finally finding her voice, Hermione made an indigent squawk and tried to shove Malfoy’s hands off the corner of parchment where he was smearing the fresh ink. “I do not know what you’re on about. So I didn’t have time to frost the cupcakes - why do you care?”

“What day is it?”

“June 5th. Malfoy, get your hands off my parchment or I’m going to have to re-write the entire thing -”

“And tell me, Granger, whose birthday is June 5th?”

Hermione pulled at the parchment under Malfoy’s hand, wanting to get it before the ink dried smeared. 

“Yours, Malfoy. We’ve known all week as you’ve peacocked around.” 

“Very good. Now, why did you decide that my _birthday_ of all days was the day to keep me from eating cupcakes all day long.”

Pausing in the action of pulling at the papers, Hermione looked up at Malfoy, her brows creasing. Malfoy’s grey eyes stared back at her expectantly. 

“I - wait, you’ve been the ones eating the cupcakes?”

Malfoy leveled a stare at her, the corner of his lip twitching. “I don’t know why you’re surprised, Susan caught me shoveling three down at once, now why -”

“How many of the cupcakes have you been eating?” 

“I had fifteen last time and took five home. Now why -”

“Fifteen,” Hermione’s eyes tracked Malfoy’s body, noting that he definitely still had the lithe seeker body he’d had at Hogwarts, even if his shoulders had filled out and really, he towered over everyone in the Ministry and Ginny had commented more than once when they saw him at the Leaky about how if she was single she would climb him even given the past…

Hermione shook her head, trying to derail that train of thought. “How are you a functioning human eating that much sugar?” 

Malfoy let out another long-suffering sigh and threaded his hands through his hair. “Luck, Granger. Now - will you bloody frost the damn cupcakes.” 

Hermione looked to the clock on her wall, and back at Malfoy. “It’s ten in the morning.” 

“And?”

“It’s ten in the morning, Malfoy. I don’t care if it’s your birthday, you’re going to rot your teeth o-”

Without waiting for her to finish, Malfoy turned and stalked out of the room and Hermione found herself staring at her office door in shock.

Of all the people to be demanding about the cupcakes. 

Shaking her head, she turned back to the parchment and grabbed her wand, muttering a spell under her breath to clean the smears that Malfoy had left. Satisfied that was taken care of, she picked up her quill and started to finish the thought she had been interrupted earlier before a cupcake was set down in front of her. Following the pale hand up, she looked up to see Malfoy’s grey eyes peering at her. 

“Seriously?”

“Just let me have my cupcake, Granger.”

Throwing her quill on the desk, Hermione stalked over to where she had dropped her bag and pulled out the two piping bags. Walking back to her desk, she leaned over the cupcake and made quick work of the design she had decided to use the night before, Malfoy hovering at her side. After a few minutes, she stood back up and pushed the cupcake towards him. Malfoy stared at it for a few seconds, before looking at her. 

“A dragon?” His lips twitched again. 

Feeling her neck flush, Hermione shrugged distractedly, busying herself with cleaning up the end of the piping bags and placing another stasis charm on them. “It seemed fitting,” she muttered, her neck flushing further as Malfoy let out a noise that would have been a snort on anyone else, the heat from his body distracting her. 

“Thank you for my cupcake, Granger.” 

Hermione looked up and watched Malfoy pick up his cupcake gingerly, his eyes glued to it as he lifted it to his lips and took a bite. His eyes closed, and he groaned softly before taking a second bite, a piece of frosting caught on the corner of his lips. Before she was aware of what she was doing, Hermione’s hand had reached out and wiped the frosting away, Malfoy stilling prenaturally under her hand. Realizing what she had done, Hermione snatched her hand back and looked up to see Malfoy watching her, a faint pink blush on his cheeks. 

“I - I have a meeting,” Hermione quickly grabbed random parchments from her desk, not paying attention to what she was grabbing. “I - you can - I have -” 

Hermione didn’t finish her thought, but darted out of her office and down the corridor, through the central atrium for the Department of Mysteries, and into the lift bank where she busied herself in pressing the button for the Auror’s department over and over. 

Just as the door started to close and she felt her shoulders relaxing, a hand darted in and the doors opened again and Hermione felt her entire face flush as Malfoy stepped into the lift. Backing into a corner, she clutched the papers to her chest as the door shut behind Malfoy. His grey eyes swirled and he eyed her over before his hand reached behind him and pulled the emergency stop on the lift, causing it to jerk to a stop and sending Hermione flying forward, her parchments flying everywhere as she landed against his chest. 

Malfoy’s hands gripped her elbows lightly and Hermione closed her eyes as he pushed her back half a step. “I’m sorry, I just - I don’t know what overcome me, and I -”

“Granger, for once in your life, stop talking,” his voice was low and Hermione snapped her eyes open, startled to see how close his face was to hers. 

Neither of them moved and Hermione opened her mouth again, but before she could say anything, Malfoy had let out a sigh that ghosted over her face and then his lips were on hers. Hermione’s eyes slid shut as her hands grasped at the front of Malfoy’s robes again, her lips parting in surprise as he nibbled at her bottom lip. Without hesitation, Malfoy’s tongue was darting inside her mouth and all she could smell was parchment, green apples, and freshly mown grass, a smell that was uniquely Malfoy’s. 

But all she could taste? 

All she could taste was the frosting from her cupcake. 


End file.
